Wrapping machine



July 24, 1962 Filed Dec. 14, 1959 S. F. ANDERSON ET AL WRAPPING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 24, 1962 s. F. ANDERSON ET AL 3,045,405

WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Dec. 14, 1959 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 24, 1962 s. F. ANDERSON ET AL 3,045,405

WRAPPING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 14, 1959 ymaw, WLMFW Hm Q 3% y 1952 s. F. ANDERSON ET AL 3,045,405

WRAPPING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 14, 1959 Ju y 24, 1 62 s. F. ANDERSON ET AL 3,045,405

WRAPPING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 mm; QT

Filed Dec. 14, 1959 TI l 3 Jul 24, 1962 s. F. ANDERSON ET AL 3,045,405

WRAPPING MACHINE '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Dec. 14, 1959 and @QN NhN MN) new em mm mm m X hr Wu WM 1 o mm 4 hi F Mn Nd 6N QM July 24, 1962 s. F. ANDERSON ET AL 3,045,405

WRAPPING MACHINE '7 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed Dec. 14, 1959 .71 .w .222.iii .|.l.l.l m

United States Paten G WRAPPING MACHINE Swan F. Anderson, 312 N. Highland Ave, Rockford, 111., and Leo Strombeck, Rockford, Ill., assignors, by direct and mesne assignments, of one-half to Swan F. Anderzondanltlll one-half to Ralph F. Anderson, both of Rock- Filed Dec. 14, 1959, Ser. No. 859,363 22 Claims. (Cl. 53-182) This invention relates to an improved automatic packaging machine and particularly to a multiple lane wrapping and sealing machine.

An important object of this invention is to provide an improved multiple lane wrapping machine which feeds the articles to the strips of wrapping material, enfolds the strips into tubes around the articles, seals the tube at longitudinally spaced points, and severs the sealed segments of the enfolded tubes in timed relation to the feeding of the articles onto the strips of wrapping material.

Another object of this invention is to provide an article wrapping machine having an improved arrangement for feeding the articles onto the strip of Wrapping material to etfect proper positioning of the articles in the wrapper.

A further object of this invention is to provide an article wrapping machine having an improved arrangement for folding a strip of wrapping material into a tube around the article to be wrapped, and for heat sealing the side edges of the enfolded strip to form a sealed tube.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an article wrapping machine in which the wrapper is advanced through the machine on an endless-type conveyer' as the wrapper strip is enfolded into a tube and transversely crimped at longitudinally spaced points, and which endless conveyer is arranged to accommodate the effective shortening of the tube produced by the transverse crimping.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a machine for wrapping articles in heat scalable wrapping material, which machine is arranged to heat and crimp the enfolded tube of material at longitudinally spaced points as the strip is advanced past one station. and to thereafter clamp the cn'mped area of the enfolded tube as it is further advanced to thereby allow the heated area to cool and. form an adequate seal. I

An additional object of this invention is to provide a wrapping machine in accordance with the foregoing object and having an improved arrangement for pressing the crimping and sealing jaws into contact with the enfolded tube.

These, together with various ancillary objects and advantages of this invention will be more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURES 1A and 1B are respectively the right and left parts of a top view of the wrapping machine;

FIGS. 2A and '2B are respectively the right and left hand parts of a side view of the wrapping machine;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are respectively the right and left parts of a longitudinal sectional view taken on the plane 33 of FIGS. 1A and "1B;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the wrapped article produced by the machine;

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the plane 5--5 of FIG. 3B;

FIG. 6 is a rear end elevational view of the machine, with the discharge conveyor removed therefrom;

FIG. 7 i-s'a side elevational view of one of the seal- 3,045,405 Patented July 24, 1952 2 ing jaws for sealing the upper side edges of the enfolded strip of wrapping material;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the plane 88 of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the electrical controls for the wrapping machine.

Frozen confection bars and frozen stick confections present particular problems when wrapping the same in a heat scalable wrapper. The frozen confections tend to melt slightly at their surface and become very slippery during the heat sealing operation and it is difficult to maintain the same in proper position in the wrapper, as the wrapper is advanced past the successive stations. While the article wrapping machine of the present invention is generally adapted for use in wrapping articles, it is specifically designed and it is herein described in connection with the Wrapping of frozen confection bars and frozen stick confections. In general, the wrapping machine includes anarticle loading station A, a folding and seaming station B, a transverse crimping station C, and a cut-oli station D wherein the end segments of the wrapper are severed from the remaining strip. An improved endless type conveyer arrangement is provided for advancing the wrapping material and the articles past the several stations.

The wrapping machine is mounted on a base includ-. ing legs 15 and upper and lower rails 16 and 17 which interconnect the legs. Cross bars 21 are mounted on the upper rails 16 adjacent one end of the base and support longitudinally extending side members 22. The article feed station A is located at one end of the machine and includes L-shaped brackets 23 attached to each of the side members with one leg thereof extending upwardly from the end of the side member. Upper and lower cross bars 24 and 25 are attached to the brackets 23 and extend crosswise of the wrapping machine. The Wrapping machine is of the multiple lane type and includes a plurality of article chutes 26, herein shown seven in number, and arranged in side-by-side relation in a direction crosswise of the machine. The chutes each include a rear wall 27 and spaced side walls 28 and are open at the front and bottom. The chutes are detachably mounted on the cross bars 24 and 25 and, for this purpose, each chute has a downwardly facing book 29 (FIG. 3A) adapted to engage the lower cross bar 25, and a stud and wing nut assembly 31 adapted to seat in notches 32 formed in the upper cross bar 24. As is apparent, this arrangement enables each article chute 26 to be individually removed from the machine for cleaning and, when the chutes are repositioned on the cross bars 24 and 25, the stud and wing nuts locate the chutes and lock the same in proper position with the side walls 28 of the adjacent chutes slightly spaced apart.

as is best shown in FIG. 1A. 1

The articles designated X, such as frozen confection bars, frozen stick confections and the like are formed in a separate machine (not shown) and then dropped simultaneously into each of the article chutes 26. In order to effect proper positioning of the articles in the wrapper, it has been found preferable to completely stop the down Ward movement of the articles due to dropping of the same into the chute, and to thereafter gently lay the articles on the strip of wrapping material with a minimum amount of movement in a direction longitudinally of the wrapper. For this purpose, an article stop blade 35 is disposed below the open lower ends of the chutes 26 a distance sufficient to permit the strip of wrapping ma terial W to be passed therebetween. The support or stop plate 35 is mounted by a cross bar 36 on the brackets 23 and a guide plate 37 is also mounted on the cross bar 36 to guide the strip of wrapping material W over the top of the stop plate. .The chutes each include a movable front wall 39 which is mounted for swinging movement by a pin 41 on the opposed sides 28 of the chute. The front wall is movable between a closed position shown in FIG. 3A in which it extends downwardly and rearwardly toward the rear wall 27 of the chute, and an open position in which it extends downwardly and in a direction away from the rear wall of the chute. in its closed position, the wall 39 prevents the articles X from being discharged from the chute and, together with the support plate 35, supports the articles in the chute in an upwardly and preferably forwardly inclined position as shown in FIG. 3A. When the wall 39 is swungto its open position, the articles X tip over onto the respective wrappers W with a minimum velocity in the direction of movement of the wrappers. In order to assure that the articles X will be ejected properly from the chutes, a plurality of generally L-shaped ejector fingers 43 are mounted on a cross rod 44 carried by arms 45 at opposite sides of the machine. The arms are mounted for vertical swinging movement on ears 46 attached to the upper cross bar 24 and the fingers 43 arear-ranged to extend through openings 47 in the rear wall 27 of the respective article chutes to engage the articles X therein. The wall 39 and ejector fingers 43 are operated in synchronism with each other so that the fingers will tip the articles out of the chutes when the walls 39 are moved to their open position. As will be noted from FIG. 3A, an upwardly extending flange 35A is formed on the forward edge of the stop plate 35 to assure that the articles will fall properly out of the chute. Guide flanges 48 and 49 are attached to the rear of each of the chutes at the sides and bottom thereof to guide the channel-shaped wrapper W around the lower ends of the respective chutes.

The adjacent lanes of the wrapping machine are spaced relatively close together and the combined width of the machine is appreciably less than the combined width of the strips of wrapping material which are passed therethrough. In order to feed the strips of wrapping material W to the several lanes, the strips are folded flat upon themselves and passed over guide rolls such 'as -1 aligned with the respective lanes of the machine. After the folded strip of wrapping material passes over its guide roll, it passes between spaced guide fingers 52. The guide flanges 48 and 49 on the chutes spread the sides of the folded strip of wrapping material apart and form the wrapper W into an open-topped U-shaped channel which moves across the lower end of the respective article chute 26, with the sides of the channel-shaped wrapper engaging opposite sides 28 of the chute.

. The wrapper W after it leaves the article loading station A, is supported on the front section B, of the conveyer shown in FIG. 3A. The front section includes an endless type chain conveyer having front and rear shafts 56 and 57 and sprockets 58 and 59 on the shafts 56 and 57 respectively. Chains 61 are entrained over the sprockets and have sets of article supporting feed bars 62 and 63 attached thereto and extending crosswise of the wrapping machine. As will be noted from FIG. 3A, the upper edge of the front sprocket 58 is positioned below the plane of the underside of the wrapper W and a plurality of longitudinally extending support bars 64 are mounted on the front and rear shafts 56 and 57 to support the conveyer feed bars. The support bars 64 have a forward ramp portion 64A and a longitudinal-1y extending guide portion 64B on the upper edge thereof which guide the feed bars and support the same as they move in a direction from the forward toward the rear end of the wrapping machine. In order to aid in positioning the articles X disposed within the wraper W, the feed bar 63 of each set has upwardly extending blade portions 65 projecting thereabove between the divider strips 71 described hereinafter, which blade portions are adapted to engage the trailing edge of the article in the wrapper and advance the same with the conveyer. Since the wrapper W overlies the conveyer, it is apparent that the wrapper is supported on the feed bars 62 and 63 and overlies the upwardly extending blade portions 65 on the feed bar 63.

The strips of wrapping material W are maintained in separate lanes by divider strips 71 which are supported at their forward ends on a strap 72 and at their rear ends by a bridge bar 73. The strap 72, as best shown in FIG. 3A, underlies the strips of wrapping material W, and has the ends thereof attached to the side members 22. The bridge bai- 73 is also attached to the side members 22 and is spaced thereabove by spacers 74. The U-shaped strips of wrapping material W pass between the divider strips 71 and wedge-shaped plates 75 are attached to the upper edges of the strips adjacent their forward ends. As is apparent from FIG. 1A, the side edges of the adjacent wedge-shaped plates 75 define a V-shaped notch which deflects the sides of the wrapper W inwardly into overlying relation around the articles X therein. The upper edges of the wrapper W are guided into face-to-face contact and for this purpose guide blades 77 and 78 are mounted on a cross bar 79 in generally V-shaped formation and are located between the side edges of adjacent wedge plates 75. The upper edges of the wrapper pass between the guide blades 77 and 78 and the adjacent side edge of the wedge plates 75 so that the inner faces of the wrapper W are brought into face-to-face contact along their upper edges.

Elongated guide plates 81 are attached to the upper edges of the divider strips 71 and extend rearwardly from a point adjacent the trailing edge of the wedge plates 75. The guide plates 81 overlie the side portions of the articles X as they pass between the divider strips and maintain the wrapper W in contact with the upper side of the articles. A plurality of seaming blocks 82 are mounted on a cross bar 82 and, as best illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the blocks having a slot 84 extending therethrough and V-shaped blades 85 for guiding the upper edges of the vwrapper W into the slot. The sealing blocks are heated by a heating element 86 mounted in the cross bar and the edges of the Wrapepr are pressed into firm sealing contact by spring members 88 which are attached to the block. The spring members 88 have offset portions 88A which extend through a cross slot 89 in the block to intersect the longitudinal slot 84therein. The offset portions 88A press the upper side edges of the wrapper together and, as best shown in FIGS. 3A and 7 .are inclined upwardly and rearwardly so as to tend to lift or raise the upper edge of the wrapper as it passes through the jaw. Air jets are directed at the longitudinal seam as it leaves the seaming block 82 and for this purpose a transverse manifold 91 is mounted on the side members 22 to extend crosswise therebetween and has a plurality of slots 93 in the underside thereof adapted to receive the sealed edge of the wrapper. Air is fed to the manifold 91 through a supply line 94 so that air issues from each of the slots 93 to cool the longitudinal seam.

The movable walls 39 in the article chute 26 and the ejector fingers 43 are operated to eject the articles from the respective chutes before the conveyer is operated to step the wrappers and bars from one station to the next succeeding station. The movable walls 39 and ejectors 43 are operated by a common fluid actuator and as shown in FIG. 2A, there is provided an air cylinder 96 having a piston rod 97 connected through a link 98 to an arm 99 on a rock shaft 101. The rock shaft is rotatably supported on brackets 102 carried by the side members 22 and has an arm 103 at one end thereof which is connected through a link 104 to one of the ejector operating arms 45. The rock shaft 101 also has a plurality of blocks 106 corresponding in number to the number of lanes in the machine, non-rotatably attached thereto at longitudinally spaced points. The blocks have a slot 107 therein and an arm 108 which is pivotally attached to the block by a pin 109 for movement about an axis parallel to the rock shaft 101. As shown in FIG. 3A, the arms 108 can swing in a counterclockwise direction about the pin 109 relative to the block and a spring 110 is connected to the link and to the block to urge the arm in a clockwise direction to a position in which the end of the arm engages the block. The block has a pin 113 thereon and a link 114 has a notch 115 adapted to receive the pin 113 to detachably connect the same. The other end of the link 114 is connected bya pin 116 to a respective one of the walls 39 of the article chutes. With this arrangement, each one of the arms 108 is yieldable relative to the block 106 so that jamming of an article in any one of the chutes, which would prevent closing of the wall 49 of that chute, will not prevent closing of the Walls in the remainder of the chutes. Thus, as the fluid actuator 96 is operated to extend the rod 97, the movable walls 39 and the ejector fingers 43 are simultaneously operated to tip the article X out of the chute and onto the wrapper. When the rod 97 is thereafter retracted, the walls 39 are closed and the fingers 43 are retracted to the position shown in FIG. 3A. A valve 118 having first and second solenoids 118A and 118B is provided for reversibly controlling the flow of fluid to the actuator 96 and energization of the solenoids 118A and 118B is controlled in a manner hereinafter described to eifect ejection of the article from the chute prior to indexing of the conveyer.

Stop fingers 111 are positioned above each of the lanes of the wrapping machine and are movable into and out of the path of the articles X on the wrappers W to properly position the articles in the wrapper. The fingers 111 are mounted on a rock shaft 112 supported by bearings 117 at opposite sides of the machine. An arm 119 is attached to the outer end of the rock shaft 112 and is connected through a link 120 to a lever 126. The lever 126 has one end pivotally mounted by a pin 130 on the side member 22 land has a roller 131 intermediate its end which engages a cam 1-32 on the outer end of the conveyer shaft 56. The stop fingers 111 are normally in their lowered positions shown in FIG. 3A to stop the articles X. After the conveyer section E, has advanced to a preselected position, the dwell portion 132a of the cam 132 operates through lever 126, link 120 and arm 119 to raise the stop fingers and allow the articles to thereafter advance with the wrappers. The cam raises the stop fingers to release the articles X at about the time the blades 65 on the conveyer engage those articles. The earn 132 operates to thereafter lower the stop fingers after the articles have passed therebelow and before the conveyer is stopped.

The wrapper W, after it has been folded into a tube and longitudinally seamed, is fed onto a second section E2 of the conveyer. The second conveyer section includes a forward shaft 121 rotatably supported in the side members 22 and having spaced sprockets 122 thereon, and a rear shaft 123 which is rotatably supported in side plates 124 andhas spaced sprockets 125 (see FIG. The side plates are supported on cross bars 127 carried by the upper rails 16. A chain 128 is entrained over the sprockets 122 and 125 and has transversely extending conveyer bars 129 extending therebetween. The conveyer bars are arranged in sets of three each and the bar 129A at the leading edge of each set is made relatively thicker than the other bars so as to project upwardly and support the stick handle of a frozen stick confection.

The seamed tube of wrapping material W is heated and crimped at longitudinally spaced points therealong as it advanced along the conveyer E2 to form the tube into spaced packages. The crimping mechanism includes a pre-heat jaw 135 which extends crosswise of the strips of wrapping material W and which has a heater element 136 therein. The crimping mechanism also includes an upper crimping jaw 137 and a lower crimping jaw 138 mounted for movement toward and away from each other in timed relation with the movement of the conveyer E2 to crimp the enfolded tube W at spaced points therealong. In the embodiment herein shown, the upper crimping jaw 137 and theupper pre-heat jaw 135 are mounted at the ends thereof on support bars 141 connected to pitmans 142 located at each side of the machine. he pitmans are mounted on cranks or eccentric disks 145 and 146 and the latter are mounted on shafts 147 and 148 journaled in the side plates 124. The lower crimping jaw 138 is similarly supported on pitmans 149 located at opposite sides of the machine andwhich pitmans are mounted on eccentric disks 151 and 152. The disks 151 are connected to the outwardly projecting ends of the rear shaft 123 for the second conveyer E2, and the disks 152 are connected to the outwardly extending ends of a shaft 153 which is also journaled in the side plates 124. When the eccentric disks are rotated in the direction indicated by the arrows in FIG. 2B, the upper crimping jaw 137 will move in a clockwise direction in a generally circular path and the lower crimping jaw 133 will move in a counterclockwise direction in a generally circular path which is tangent to the path defined by the upper jaw. Thus, the upper and lower crimping jaws are simultaneously moved toward each other, and in the direction of movement of the Wrapper W along the conveyer E2 to crimp the wrapper therebetween. The diameter of the conveyer sprockets 125 are selected so that the conveyer is advanced a distance cor responding to the length of one package during each revolution of the shaft 123. The eccentric disks 146 and 152 are drivingly interconnected, as by gear teeth 146A and 152A on their peripheries so that the upper and lower crimping jaws are operated in timed relation with each other, and with the conveyer E2 to crimp the enfolded wrapper once during each revolution of the shaft 123.

The lower crimping jaw 13% is heated as by an electrical heating unit 155 which, in conjunction with the preheat jaw 135, heats the enfolded tube at longitudinally spaced points to effect a properseal. As best shown in 7 FIG. 3B, the upper crimping jaw includes a transversely extending bar 158 and a plurality of generally U-shaped jaw elements 159 which are slidable in a direction transverse to the bar and yieldably urged toward the lower jaw 138 by springs 161. The jaw elements 159 are maintained in assembled relation on the bar 158 by fasteners 162 which slidably extend through the bar and are threaded into the jaw element. With this arrangement, the upper jaw elements'159 yieldably press the wrapper W against the lower jaw element 138 and, since the jaw elements for each lane are independently movable, an obstruction in one lane which would prevent proper closing of the jaws will not effect closing of the jaws in the other lanes. In order to assure proper positioning of the articles X in the wrappers, and prevent clamping of the article sticks between the upper and lower jaws 137 and 138, a plurality of positioning fingers 165 are mounted on a cross bar 166 carried by the support bars 141. As shown in FIG. 3B, the rounded lower ends of the positioning fingers are arranged to engage the leading edge of the article X as the crimping jaws are brought together, to move the bar rearwardly away from the crimping jaws, in the event the bar has shifted from its proper position in the wrapper W.

Provision is made for clamping the crimped areas of the wrapper together to allow the heated area to cool and form an adequate seal. For this purpose, upper and lower auxiliary conveyers 171 and 172 are mounted intermediate the ends of the conveyer E2 and carry upper and lower clamping jaws 173 and 174 for clamping the crimped areas therebetween. The lower auxiliary conveyer 172 includes a chain 176 mounted on sprockets 177 and 178 conveniently-attached to the shafts 123 and 153 respectively. As best shown in FIG. 5, the sprockets and chain of the lower auxiliary conveyer are located between the sprockets and chains of the second conveyer E2 and the lower clamping bars 174 are positioned so as to extend crosswise of the machine between the groups of conveyer bars 129 on the main conveyer E2. Conveyer support rails 181 are mounted on the shafts 123 and 153 and underlie the clamping bars 174 and the conveyer bars 129 to support the same as they move rearwardly.

The upper auxiliary conveyer 171 includes a chain 182 which is mounted on sprockets 183 and 184 conveniently attached to the shafts 147 and 148 respectively. Each of the clamping jaws 173 on the upper conveyer 171 includes a plurality of independently movable jaw elements, one for each lane of the wrapping machine. The jaw elements have a generally U-shaped configuration and are mounted on a cross bar 187 attached to the conveyer chain 182. A pressure plate 188 is attached to the jaw elements as by fasteners 189 and springs 191 are interposed between the bar 187 and the pressure plate 188 to yieldably urge the jaw elements 186 to a retracted position. The jaw elements 186 of the upper clamping jaws 173 are yieldably pressed downwardly into engagement with the lower clamping jaws, after the upper and lower jaws have moved into registry with each other, by pressure bars 193. The pressure bars 193 are individual to each lane of the wrapping machine and extend longitudinally thereof to engage the pressure plates 188 on the jaw elements 186 as the jaw elements reach their lower run. The pressure bars 193 are resiliently supported by studs 194 and springs 195 on cross bars 196 which extend between the side plates 124. With this arrangement, the jaw elements 186 for each lane are individually pressed against the lower jaws 174 so that an obstruction which would prevent closing of the jaws in one lane will not affect proper closing of the jaws in the remaining lanes. The upper run of the upper auxiliary conveyer 171 is supported by a bar 198 (see FIG. which underlies the upper run of the chain 182 and is attached as by fasteners 199 to the sides 124. The upper clamping jaws 173, as they move around the arcuate end runs of the sprockets, sometimes tend to tilt or cock about an axis longitudinally of the clamping jaws and prevent proper registration of the upper and lower clamping jaws 173 and 174. To overcome this difficulty, a finger 208 (see FIG. 3B) is attached to the jaw members adjacent each end of the clamping jaws 173, which finger is arranged to engage the periphery of a hub 184A on the sprocket 184 as the jaws move therearound. In order to enhance the cooling of the heated areas, while they are clamped by the jaws 173 and 174, air is directed at the upper jaws 173 prior to movement of the jaws into clamping position. For this purpose, a manifold 202 is mounted on the side frames to extend crosswise of the machine and has air discharge ports 203 directed to discharge jets of air on the jaws to cool the same. Air is supplied to the manifolds 282 and 91 from a blower 201.

After leaving the clamping jaws, the sealed packages are severed from the strip of wrapping material by the cutter mechanism D. This cutter mechanism includes a stationary cutter blade 211 having its upper edge positioned at the level of the crimped areas of the wrappers, as they emerge from the conveyer. A generally rectangular cutter frame having upper and lower pieces 212 and 213 and interconnecting side pieces 214 is mounted for vertical sliding movement in guideways 215 attached to the ends of the side plates 124. An upper cutter plate 216 is mounted on the upper piece 212 of the frame for movement therewith and is preferably inclined as shown in FIG. 6 to progressively sever the packages from the strips of wrapping material as the cutter blade is moved downwardly. A guide blade 218 (see FIG. 3B) is attached to the lower piece 213 of the frame and is arranged to extend alongside of the lower cutter blade 211 when the movable cutter blade 216 is in its raised position to guide the wrappers over the stationary blade 211. The movable cutter blade 216 is operated by means of an air cylinder 221 having its rod 222 connected through a link 223 to an arm 224 carried by a rock shaft 225. The rock shaft 225 is mounted on spaced bearings 226 carried by the legs 15 of the base and has operating arms 227 attached to the outer ends thereof. The operating arms are connected through links 228 to the cutter frame to 8 move the cutter blade 216 downwardly as the air cylinder is retracted. As will be noted from FIGS. 33 and 6, the lower end of the link 228 is pivotally attached to the arm by a pin 229 and the upper end of the link 228 is swively attached with a ball and socket type arrangement 230 to the cutter frame to accommodate the change in angularity of the link. Fluid is reversibly supplied to the cylinder 221 under the control of a valve 231 having a first solenoid 231A adapted upon operation to move the valve to one position and a second solenoid 231B adapted upon actuation to move the valve to its other position. After the severed packages pass the cutter mechanism D, they drop onto a belt-type conveyer 235 conveniently supported on the base of the machine. As shown in FIG. 3B, the conveyer 235 is driven by a chain 232 from the main conveyer shaft 123.

The conveyers E1 and E2 and the auxiliary conveyers 171 and 172 are driven by a common drive motor 236 which is connected through a one-way clutch mechanism 237 to a main drive shaft 238. The outer end of the drive shaft 238 is journaled in a bearing 239 carried by a plate 241 which extends between the upper and lower rails 16 and 17 at one side of the base. A sprocket 242 is connected through a chain 243 to the sprocket teeth formed on the disk 151 and an idler sprocket 244 is provided for maintaining proper chain tension. The one-way clutch includes a clutch trip lever 250 which is operated by means of a solenoid 251 and the clutch is adapted, when the solenoid is energized, to drive the shaft 238 through one revolution. The ratio of the sprockets 242 and 151 is 1:1 so that the eccentrics 145, 146, 151 and 152 are each rotated through one revolution each time the one-way clutch is tripped. As previously described, the diameter of the sprockets for the conveyor chain 128 is selected so as to advance the conveyer chain a distance corresponding to the length of one of the packages P, when the shaft 123 is rotated through one revolution. However, there is an efiiective shortening of the wrapper strip, as it is transversely crimped by the crimping jaws 137 and 138 and thereafter clamped by the clamping jaws 173 and 174. Accordingly, the first section E1 of the conveyer is driven at a slightly greater speed than the second section E2. In the present arrangement, the first conveyer E1 is driven from the second conveyer. This is achieved by the provision of a sprocket 255 on the shaft 121 of the second conveyer and a sprocket 256 on the outer end of the shaft 57 of the first conveyer, which sprockets are interconnected by a chain 257. In order to operate the first conveyer at a slightly higher speed, the sprocket 256 for the first conveyer is selected to have one tooth less than the sprocket 255 of the second conveyer so that the first conveyer is driven through a slightly higher distance, of the order of one-half inch greater than the second conveyer each time the conveyer is indexed. This accommodates the shortening of the strip of wrapping material caused by the transverse crimping of the enfolded tube.

The electrical controls for operating the several instrumentalities in timed relation is diagrammatically shown in FIG. 9. As shown therein, power is supplied to the machine through a main disconnect switch 261 which controls the supply of power to conductors 262 and 263. The cycle of operation of the machine is initiated by a switch 264 positioned adjacent the article chutes 26 and arranged so that the machine which feeds the articles into the chutes will close the switch 264 on the upward or return stroke. The switch 264 is connected through conductor 265 to the input conductor 262 and through conductor 266 to one of the solenoids 118A of the valve 118. Energization of the solenoid 118A operates the valve to supply fluid under pressure to the cylinder 96 and extend the piston rod 97. As previously described, extension of the rod 97 opens the movable walls 39 of the chutes and moves the ejector fingers 43 in the article chutes to tip the articles X out of the chutes and lay the same onto the wrapper W.

The rod 97 has a finger 268 attached thereto which closes a switch 269 when the rod reaches a preselected raised position. The switch 269 is connected through conductor 271 to the power conductor 262 and through con ductor 272 to the 'clutch solenoid 251. Closing of the switch 269 energizes the clutch solenoid which operates a clutch lever 250 and permits the shaft 238 to rotate through one revolution. As the shaft is rotated through one revolution, the conveyers E1 and E2 are indexed through a distance corresponding to the length of the package. At the beginning of a cycle of operation, the

conveyers are in their normal stopped position in FIGS.

3 and 3B, and the article stop fingers 111 are in their lowered positions. After the conveyers have advanced a preselected distance, the cam 132 (FIGS. 2A and 9) raises the stop fingers to permit the articles X engaged thereby to move with the wrapper strips on the conveyer E1. After the conveyer advances a further distance approximately midway of its stroke, a cam nose 275 on the hub of the first conveyer drive sprock 256 (FIGS. 2A and 9) closes a normally open switch 276. The switch 276 is connected through conductor 277 to the power conductor 262 and through conductor 278 to the other solenoid 118B, which solenoid is grounded through conductor 279. Energization of the solenoid 118B shuts off the supply of fluid to the cylinder 96 and retracts the same to move the walls 39 of the chutes to their closed positions and to retract the article ejector fingers 43.

As the wrapper and articles are advanced by the conveyers, the U-shaped wrapper strip W is first folded into a tube and longitudinally seamed by the jaws 82, and thereafter transversely heated and crimped by the jaws 135, 137 and 138. The crimped areas as previously described are clamped by the clamping jaws 173 and 174. Just before the completion of the rotation of the shaft 238, a cam nose 281 on the shaft 238 (FIG. 9) operates a lever 282 to close a switch 283. The switch 283' is connected through conductor'284 to the power conductor 262 and through conductor 285 to one of the solenoids 231A which operate the Valve 231. The solenoid 231A is otherwise grounded through conductor 286 and, when energized, operates the valve 231 to supply fluid to the cylinder 221 and retract the piston 222. This cuts off the end packages from the strips of packages. A finger 291 is provided on the piston rod 222, which finger operates a switch 292 to close the latter when the rod is retracted. The switch 292 is connected through a conductor 2% to the power 262 and through conductor 294 to the other solenoid 231B, which last-mentioned solenoid is grounded through conductor 295. This reverses the application of pressure to the cylinder 221 and extends the rod 222 to reopen the cutter blade. In the event some obstruction prevents full closing of the cutter blade, so that the switch 292 cannot be actuated to reverse movement of the cutter blade, a safety switch 298 is provided and connected through conductors 299 and 300 in parallel with the switch 292. The switch 298 is positioned so as to be closed by the clutch operating lever 250, when the clutch is operated for the next succeeding cycle. This assures that the cutter blade will be reopened before the conveyors are advanced during a succeeding operation, and thereby prevents jamming of the machine. The heaters 86, 136 and 156 are connected to the power conductors 262 and 263 to be energized when the main switch 261 is closed.

We claim:

1. In a machine for wrapping elongated articles, the combination of an upwardly extending article chute having a rear wall and an opening at the front side, means including a conveyer extending from the front side of said chute for advancing a strip of wrapping material across the lower end of the chute, a wall swingably mounted adjacent its upper end on said chute for movement be tween a closed position inclined downwardly toward said rear wall to support an article in an upwardly and forwardly inclined position and an open positioninclined 10 away from said rear wall to permit the article to pivot about its lower end onto the strip of wrapping material, and means operable to sequentially open said wall and thereafter advance said conveyer.

2 The combination of claim 1 including ejector means engageable with an article in the chute for discharging the same, and means for operating said ejector means and said wall in timed relation.

3. In a machine for wrapping articles, the combination of a conveyer, an upwardly extending article chute above said conveyer, said chute having spaced sides and an open bottom, means including said conveyer for advancing a U-shaped strip of heat sealable wrapping material crosswise of the lower end of the chute, means for intermittently discharging a bar from the chute into the U-shaped strip of wrapping material, means for guiding the upper edges of the strip of wrapping material into face-to-f-ace relation, a sealing member positioned above said conveyer and defining a jaw for receiving the edges of the strip of wrapping material, and resilient fingers mounted on the member and extending into the jaw at opposite sides thereof to resiliently press the upper edges of the wrapper together, said fingers having wrapper-engaging portions inclined upwardly in the direction of movement of the wrapper on the conveyer to raise the edges of the wrapper into the jaw.

4. The combination of claim 3 including a manifold having slots for receiving the sealed edges of thewrapper as it is advanced by the conveyer, and means for supplying air to the manifold for passage through the slots therein to cool the sealed edges of the wrapper.

5. In a machine for wrapping articles, the combination of a first and second endless conveyer disposed in endttoend relation for advancing a strip of wrapping material, means adjacent one end of said first conveyer for feeding articles onto said strip, means disposed above said first conveyer for folding and seaming the strip into a tube around the articles as the strip is advanced by the first conveyer, crimping means extending transverse to said second conveyor intermediate the ends thereof for sealing the enfolded strip at spaced points between the articles therein as the wrapper is advanced by the second conveyer, means for driving said first conveyor at a speed slightly greater than the second conveyer to accommodate the shortening of the enfolded strip as it is sealed at spaced points therealong, and means for cutting the tube between the articles therein. 7

6. In a machine for wrapping articles, the combination of a first and a second endless conveyer disposed in endto-end relation for advancing a strip of wrapping mate rial, means adjacent one end of said first conveyer for feeding articles onto said strip, means disposed above said first conveyer for folding the strip into a tube around the articles as the strip is advanced by the first conveyer, crimping jaws disposed above and below the enfolded tube intermediate the ends of said second conveyer, means operated in timed relation to said second conveyer for moving said jaws toward each other and in a direction to travel with the tube to seal the enfolded tube at spaced points therealong as the tube is advanced by the second conveyer, means for driving said first conveyer at a speed slightly greater than said second conveyer to accommodate the shortening of the strip as it is sealed at spaced points therealong, and means for cutting the tube between the articles therein.

7. In a machine for wrapping articles, the combination of a first and a second endless conveyer disposed in vendto-end relation for advancing a strip of wrapping material, means adjacent one end of said first conveyer for feeding articles onto said strip, means disposed above said first conveyer for folding the strip into a tube around the articles as the strip is advanced by the first conveyer, upper and lower crimping jaws disposed above and below the enfolded tube intermediate the ends of said second conveyer, crank means mounting said upper and lower 1 1 jaws for movement in arcuate paths extending substantially tangent to each other to seal the enfolded tube at spaced points therealong as it is advanced by the second conveyer, means for driving said first conveyer at a speed slightly greater than said second conveyer to accommodate the shortening of the strip as it is sealed at spaced points therealong, and means for cutting the tube between the articles therein,

8. In a machine for wrapping articles, the combination of a first and a second endless conveyer disposed in endto-end relation for advancing a strip of wrapping material, means adjacent one end of said first conveyer for feeding articles onto said strip, means disposed above said first conveyer for folding the strip into a tube around the articles as the strip is advanced by the first conveyer, auxiliary conveyers mounted above and below the tube of wrapping material intermediate the ends of said second conveyer, said auxiliary conveyers having sealing jaws mounted thereon and extending transverse to the enfolded tube to clamp the same therebetween at spaced points along the strip, said auxiliary conveyers having a length greater than the spacing between the sealing jaws thereon whereby at least one jaw is always in engagement with the enfolded tube, means for driving the several conveyers in timed relation with each other, and means for cutting the tube between the articles therein.

9. The combination of claim 8 wherein the sealing jaws on at least one auxiliary conveyer are mounted for limited lateral movement relative to the respective conveyer and have pressure applying means engageable with the jaws on said one conveyer When they are in registry with the jaws on the other conveyer to yieldably press the registering jaws on the auxiliary conveyers 'into engagement with opposite sides of the enfolded strip of wrapping material.

10. A multiple lane article wrapping machine comprising, endless-type conveyer means having spaced transverse bars for supporting and advancing a plurality of strips of wrapping material in side-by-side relation, means adjacent one end of said conveyer means for feeding articles onto the strips, means for folding each strip into a tube around the articles as the strips are advanced by the conveyer means, endless-type auxiliary conveyers disposed above and below the enfolded tubes of wrapping material intermediate the ends of said endless conveyer means, said auxiliary conveyers having transverse sealing jaws thereon disposed between said transverse bars of said conveyer means for clamping the tubes therebetween whereby to seal the same and advance the tubes, means for driving said auxiliary conveyers and said conveyer means in timed relation, said auxiliary conveyers having a length greater than the spacing between the jaws thereon whereby at least one jaw is always in engagement with the enfolded tubes, and means at the end of said conveyer means for severing the end sections from the tubes.

11. A multiple lane article wrapping machine comprising, an endless-type conveyer means having spaced transverse bars for supporting and advancing a plurality of strips of wrapping material in side-by-side relation, means adjacent one end of said conveyer means for feeding articles onto the strips, means for folding each strip into a tube around the articles as the strips are advanced by the conveyer means, auxiliary conveyers disposed above and below the enfolded tubes of Wrapping material intermediate the ends of said conveyer means, said auxiliary conveyers having transverse sea-ling jaws thereon extending intermediate the bars on said conveyer means, said sealing jaws on at least one auxiliary conveyer including individual jaw members for each lane of the machine each mounted for limited lateral movement relative to the auxiliary conveyer, pressure applying means individual to each lane engageable with said jaw members when the jaws on the auxiliary conveyers are in registry with each other on relatively opposite sides of the enfolded tubes of wrapping material, means for driving said auxiliary conveyers in timed relation with said conveyer means, and means at the end of said conveyer means remote from said article feed means for severing an end section from the enfolded tubes.

'12. The combination of claim 11 including upper and lower crimping jaws respectively disposed above and below the strips of wrapping material intermediate said entubing means and said auxiliary conveyers, crank means mounting said upper and lower crimping jaws for movement in generally circular paths extending substantially tangent to each other to crimp the enfolded strips at spaced points therealong, and means for rotating said crank means through one revolution in response to advance of said auxiliary conveyers a distance corresponding to the spacing between the jaws thereon.

13. The combination of claim 12 including means on at least one of said crimping jaws for heating that jaw.

14. The combination of claim 12 wherein at least one of said crimping jaws includes a plurality of jaw members each individual to one lane of the machine, and means for resiliently supporting said jaw members on the respective crank means.

15. The combination of claim 10 including a preheat jaw connected to the upper crimping jaw for movem nt therewith and spaced from the upper jaw a distance substantially equal to the spacing between the sealing jaws on the auxiliary conveyers to heat the enfolded strip of wrapping material prior to crimping of the enfolded strip between said crimping jaws.

16. The combination of claim 15 including means for directing jets of air at said sealing jaws on at least one of the auxiliary conveyers to cool the same.

17. In an article wrapping machine, the combination of an upwardly extending article chute for receiving articles deposited therein, a stop engageable with the article in the chute to arrest downward movement of the same in the chute, conveyor means movable to advance a strip of wrapping material across the lower end of the chute, a movable retaining member for releasably retaining articles in the chute, an article stop finger mounted for movement into and out of the path of movement of the articles on said strip of wrapping material for positioning the same in the strip, and means for operating said retaining member and said stop finger in timed relation with the movement of said conveyor means to permit an article to pass out of the chute and onto the strip of wrapping material and to stop the articles in a preselected position on said strip.

18. In an article wrapping machine, the combination of an upwardly extending article chute having a discharge opening at one side thereof dimensioned longer than the articles to permit lateral movement of the articles therethrough, a stop engageable with an article in the chute to arrest downward movement of the same, means for advancing a strip of wrapping material horizontally across the lower end of said chute, an article retainer movable across said discharge opening in said chute to releasably retain an article in a generally upwardly extending position in the chute, an article ejector engageable with an article in the chute at a point sufficiently close to the upper end of the article to move the upper end of an article through said discharge opening and thereby invert the article as it is discharged onto the strip of wrapping material, and means for operating said article retainer and said article ejector in timed relation with each other to move the article retainer away from said discharge opening and to eject an article from the chute through said discharge opening.

19. In a machine for wrapping elongated articles, the combination of a conveyor, an upwardly extending article chute adjacent one end of the conveyor for receiving elongated articles and having a discharge opening at one side thereof, stop means for arresting downward movement of the articles in the chute, an article retaining member movable across said discharge opening for releasably retaining an article in the chute, an article ejector engageable with an article in the chute and movable to eject an article through said discharge opening, an article stop finger mounted for movement into and out of the path of movement of the articles on said strip of wrapping material for positioning the same thereon, and means for operating said article retaining member, said article ejector and said article stop finger in timed relation to eject an article from the chute onto the strip of wrapping material and to stop the article in a preselected position on the strip of wrapping material. I

20. A multiple lane article wrapping machine compris ing, a first and a second endless conveyor disposed in v end-to-end relation for advancing a plurality of strips of wrapping material in Side by-side relation, said second conveyor having spaced transverse bars for supporting the strips of wrapping material, means adjacent said first conveyor means for feeding articles onto the strips, means for folding the strips into tubes around the articles as the strips are advanced by the conveyor means, auxiliary endless conveyors disposed above and below the tubes intermediate the ends of said second conveyor, said auxiliary conveyors having sealing jaws thereon disposed between said transverse bars of said conveyor means for clamping the tubes therebetween whereby to seal the same and advance the tubes, means for driving said auxiliary conveyors and said second conveyor at substantially the same speed, and means for driving said first conveyor at a speed sufficiently greater than the speed of said second conveyor to accommodate the shortening of the tubes as it is sealed at spaced points therealong.

21. The combination of claim 20 including crimping jaws disposed above and below the tubes intermediate the ends of said second conveyor and in advance of said auxiliary conveyors, and means operated in timed relation with said auxiliary conveyors for moving said crimping jaws toward each other and in the direction of movement of the tubes to crimp the enfolded tubes at spaced points therealong.

22. In an article wrapping machine, the combination of an upwardly extending article chute for'receiving articles deposited therein, said chute having a discharge opening at one side thereof, dimensioned at leastas long as the article to permit lateral movement of the article therethrough, a stop engageable with an article in the chute to arrest downward movement of the same in the chute, conveyor means movable to advance a strip of wrapping material across the lower end of the chute, an article ejector finger engageable wtih an article in the chute at a point suificiently close to the upper end thereof to move the upper end of the article through said discharge opening and thereby invert the article as it is discharged onto the strip of wrapping material, an article stop finger mounted for movement into and out of the path of movement of the articles on said strip of wrapping material for positioning the same thereon, and means for operating said article ejector and said step finger in timed relation to eject an article from the chute onto the strip of wrapping material and to stop the ejected article in a preselected position on the strip of wrapping material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,705,352 Johnston et a1 Apr. 5, 1955 2,886,980 Martin May 19, 1959 

